Effect given to the recommendations of the committee and the Governing Body - Report No 337, June 2005

Case No 2305 (Canada) - Complaint date: 09-OCT-03 - Closed

Effect given to the recommendations of the Committee and the Governing Body

1. 30. The Committee examined this case on the merits at its November 2004 session, where it made the following recommendations [see 335th Report, para. 512]. The Committee: once again urges the Government to take measures to consider establishing a voluntary and effective dispute prevention and resolution mechanism rather than having recourse to back-to-work legislation; once again urges the Government to ensure that recourse to arbitration for the settlement of disputes concerning teachers in Ontario be voluntary and that such arbitration, once freely chosen by the parties be truly independent and in line with freedom of association principles; requests the Government to ensure in future that full and good faith consultations are undertaken on any question affecting trade union rights; requests the Government to keep it informed of developments on all the above issues, in particular as regards the results of the Education Partnership Table. The Committee also requested the Government to keep it informed of developments in all these respects.
2. 31. In a communication dated 24 January 2005, the Government of Ontario stated that, while there were no new specific developments to report, it continued to work with stakeholders to bring peace and stability in the education sector. Among other initiatives, the Government recently passed legislation (Professional Learning Program Cancellation Act) ending the “teacher testing program” which had been a contentious issue in the education sector; its elimination was welcomed by teachers’ unions. The issue of professional development for teachers will be addressed as part of the Education Partnership Table Project, and is the subject of a recently released discussion paper that seeks input from interested parties. Teachers’ unions have indicated that some provincial policy and/or funding actions are required as regards some issues, e.g. preparation time for elementary teachers, and average number of classes taught by secondary teachers. In response, the Minister of Education, school board trustees and teachers’ federations have recently begun a new dialogue on workload issues.
3. 32. The Committee notes with interest the information provided by the Government, from which it appears that social dialogue has resumed and is being pursued between the Government and stakeholders in the education sector. The Committee requests the Government to continue to keep it informed of developments, in particular, as regards results achieved at the education partnership table, including as concerns the establishment of a voluntary and effective dispute-prevention and resolution mechanism.